I am somewhat amazed that nobody in this thread has pointed out the
mechanical design elements in the TOST release system. In addition to
the strength of the steel without the welds, the two different sized links

are designed to work with the Tost release so that the big ring rides on
the release outer ring, thus making sure that no matter what angle the
rope is being pulled at, the geometry is such that the smaller ring is
always pulling straight out and thus can't ever jam the hook due to side
or other loads. Two same sized chain links just can't accomplish this.
The two same sized chain links defeat the safeties that Tost has built
into their release system. Not using the approved links for flight
operations is just dumb and dangerous. I'd bet that there would also
be pretty big legal ramifications if there were an accident where a
release issue was at least a contributing factor, and the investigators
found out that the glider was not being operated according to the
glider/TOST operating manual specifications.

In our club, we have TOST links on our ropes. If someone wants to fly
the 1-26, we have a single Schweizer ring on a short rope weak-link /
pig-tail which we thread onto the larger TOST ring for temporary use.

RO